Enter the Shining Phoenix
by Averex8
Summary: This is a story about a mysterious new character Who has entered Neo Domino City and who seems to be searching for someone. This story has nothing to do with the character Aster Phoenix.
1. Enter the Shining Phoenix

A few notes you should read first:

This story has nothing to do with the character Aster Phoenix. This story is about an OC character who comes to domino city in search of someone. This is Part 1 and it takes place after Yusei becomes the new king but before he meets the first dark signer. In this story Rua and Ruka did not go with Yusei and the other's to Saiga's hideout because it was decided that it would be too dangerous for them to tag along and that it would be best if they went home. Any dialouge beginning with a dash indicates a line spoken by a crowd member. All duels will use either real cards or cards from the anime and will follow the official rules of the OCG. I'm not a writer but I try and I think I do okay for myself so please leave feedback so I can improve and tell me what you think of my story. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Enter The Shining Phoenix

It's a clear and beautiful Saturday morning In Neo Domino City. The serene silence is broken by the wind chopping blades of a helicopter. The helicopter stops and hovers about ten feet above a building about ten stories tall. The door of the helicopter opens revealing a young fit man 5'7 inches tall standing at the doorway. He has short black spiky hair combed backward and he is clad entirely in black clothing. His clothing consists of a long coat with a sleeveless shirt underneath along with pants, shoes, leather gloves, a belt with two deck boxes clipped to it on his right hip, and a pair of sun glasses. The sleeves of his coat are folded up to just below his elbows exposing his arms. His gloves are fingerless with large rectangular holes on the backs. He is also wearing a Duel Disk in standby mode. His Duel Disk is a modified Battle City B model Duel Disk, the improved version of the original Battle City A model, both of which are outdated. The man jumps out of the helicopter and lands safely on top of the building. As the helicopter flies away he walks toward the edge of the building and peers out over the city.

"Now where are you," he says to himself.

In Daimon, a street duel has commenced with a crowd gathered around the two duelists.

"Come on Dameon crush this guy!" shouted one of the crowd members.

Dameon's opponent is a young red haired man named Leon. Leon is in the lead with 2200 LP while Dameon is at 1400 LP. Leon has Gladiator Beast Bestiari(ATK 1500/DEF 800) Face-Up on his side of the field in Attack Position while Dameon only has one card Face-Down in his Spell and Trap Card Zone.

"I place one card Face-Down and end my turn," said Dameon.

Dameon now has 2 cards Face-Down in his Spell and Trap Card Zone. Leon draws his card.

"This duel has been a breeze so far." "And now it's time to end it!" exclaimed Leon. "I summon Gladiator Beast Murmillo(ATK 800/DEF 400) in Defense Position." "Now I fuse Gladiator Beast Murmillo and Gladiator Beast Bestiari!" "Go, Contact Fusion!" Leon initiates a Contact Fusion by sending the two monsters to his Deck, the monsters then swirl together to form an entirely new monster. "I Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus(ATK 2400/DEF 1500) In Attack Positon!" A monster with green armor outlined in white then appeared on Leon's field. The monster also had red feathers on the top of its head and armored light green colored wings.

"Your monsters can fuse without polymerization!?" said a surprised Dameon.

"That's right and When Gladiator Beast Gyzarus is Special Summoned his effect activates which lets me destroy up to 2 cards on the field," said Leon. "I target your two Face-Down cards."

Dameon looks on as Gyzarus's effect activates.

With two swift punches Gyzarus destroys Dameon's two Face-Down cards and any chances Dameon had left of winning.

"Gyzarus attack directly with Dark Hurricane Punch!"

With its fist engulfed in swirling wind and dark energy, Gyzarus delivers a powerful punch to Dameon reducing his life points to zero. As a result of the attack Dameon loses his balance and falls on his rear.

"Yes!" Leon said in excitement. "Now pay up."

Dameon then hands Leon a stack of bills with a white paper band around it.

It's now around noon and Leon is walking down an alley admiring and counting the amount of money he had just won in his previous duel. At the same time another person is walking towards Leon as if he's targeting him. This person then stops about fifty feet away from Leon staring in his direction. Leon looks up and notices this person. It's the mysterious man.

"Hey what're you staring at!?" shouted Leon in a rude tone.

The man then starts to walk closer toward Leon.

"Hey I'm talkin' to you!" shouted Leon.

The man stays silent as he continues to walk closer toward Leon. Leon stands there waiting for an answer.

The man then stops about ten feet away from Leon and finally speaks.

"I'm looking For Yusei Fudo," The man said in a straightforward voice.

"Yusei Fudo, the king of Neo Domino City?" asked Leon.

"Yeah, know where I can find him?"

"Well I don't know where Yusei is but I've seen him around here before and there were five other people with him," said Leon.

"hm," said the man as he starts to walk past Leon.

"Hey hold on," said Leon.

The man stops.

"He had two kids with him and I know where they live. But I'll only tell you on one condition" said Leon. "You have to duel me and if you win I'll tell you where you can find those kids." "But if I win I get the rarest card in your deck."

"Alright then," Agreed the man.

Meanwhile in their lavish tops apartment high above Neo Dominio City, Rua and Ruka are inside as usual. Ruka is on the internet and Rua is talking to his friend Tenpei via video monitor.

"Whadaya mean you don't wanna go back to Daimon?" said an annoyed Rua.

"Well the last time we went there we almost got done in by that freaky black rose witch. And besides, have you forgotten about all the marked criminals that hang out there? Daimon isn't exactly a kid friendly place," explained Tenpei.

"But if we're ever gonna get stronger we have to duel against tough opponents. And Daimon is the perfect place to do it" Said Rua, hoping he could persuade Tenpei to join him.

Ruka, overhearing their conversation, glances over at Rua.

"Sorry Rua, but I don't wanna go back there. It's just too dangerous."

"Alright then I'll see you later," said Rua disappointingly.

The video monitor shuts off and Rua sits down on the couch and starts to look through his deck. Ruka then goes over to Rua.

"Hey Rua I've been thinking, why don't I go with you to Daimon?" said Ruka.

"You wanna go out to Daimon?"

"Yes let me go with you," said Ruka.

"I don't know, Daimon might be too tough for you"

"But it's such a beautiful day outside and I don't want to be cooped up in here all day. And besides I've beaten you plenty of times so I can handle myself," explained Ruka.

"Hey!" Rua got offended by Ruka's comment.

"Oh I'm not saying you're a bad duelist or anything," Ruka said nervously trying to fix what she said.

"Forget it, come on lets go," said Rua.

Rua's stomach suddenly growled.

"Uh-oh, I guess its time for lunch," said Rua embarrassed. "Let's have a snack first." Rua and Ruka both head toward the kitchen to get a snack.

Back in Daimon a crowd has gathered. Leon and the mysterious man had both agreed to have their duel there.

"Are you ready," asked Leon.

The man pulls the deck he had in his duel disk out and swaps it with another deck he had stashed away in one of the deck boxes clipped to his belt.

"I won't need my strongest deck to beat you," said the man.

"Is that right," said Leon. "Well let's get started then hotshot."

Their Duel Disks switch from Standby Mode to Duel Mode and their Life Points set to 4000.

"DUEL," they both shouted.

"Why don't you go first since you're so confident you're gonna win," said Leon.

"Fine," said the man as he drew his card. "I place one monster Face-Down and end my turn."

"Is that all?" mocked Leon. "Hmph," he scoffed as he drew his card. "I summon Gladiator Beast Laquari(ATK 1800/DEF 400) to the field in Attack Position." A tiger-like beast appeared on Leon's field with orange armor outlined in white on its lower legs, lower arms, head, chest and back. "Attack, Gladiator Beast Laqauri, Wild Claw!" Being the target of an attack the man's monster is flipped face-up. From this card a bodiless creature appears. Visible are two feet wearing Greek styled sandals, two white-gloved hands holding a bow and arrow, a red crown over the area where its head would be, and a pair of small white feathered wings protruding from the area were its back would be.

"Skelengel's effect activates." said the man. "When it's flipped face-up I draw one card from my deck." He then drew his card. And with one swipe of Laqauri's mighty claw Skelengel is destroyed in a display of white shards.

"Time for Laquari's effect." said Leon. "If a Gladiator Beast monster battles, then at the end of that Battle Phase I can send that Gladiator Beast monster to my Deck and Special Summon another Gladiator Beast from Deck to my side of the field." "So I send Gladiator Beast Laquari to my Deck and then I'll Special Summon Gladiator Beast Sparticus(ATK 2200/DEF 1600) to the field in Attack Postion."

A huge humanoid dinosaur-like creature holding a black bladed halberd appeared on Leon's field. It has two large shoulder guards, colored brown on the top and a vanilla color on the bottom, each protruding out backward into a sharp point. The shoulder guards also featured three sharp bony spikes protruding from their tops in a straight line. Its body, arm, and leg armor shared the same brown and vanilla color scheme.

"And When Gladiator Beast Sparticus is Special Summoned by the effect of another Gladiator Beast, I have to add one Equip Spell Card from my Deck to my hand." "I choose Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd." Leon added the selected card to his hand. "I end."

The man drew his card. After Looking at his hand with a confident look on his face, he makes his move. "I activate a Field Spell Card called The Sanctuary in the Sky." The ruins of a large white stone structure appear behind the man, hovering in the air. The crowd looks up, gazing upon the large stone structure hovering above them. "Now I summon Zeradias, Herald of Heaven(ATK 2100/DEF 800) in Attack Position." A paled-skinned man with large green feathered wings and two red horns on its head appears on the man's field. This creature is wearing blue pants, golden boots, red cloth around its lower face, green cloth covering its lower arms, and a green hood. Its weapon is a long handle with a large exotic u-shaped blade at the end. "I can summon this monster as long as The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field." "But if it's not then Zeradias is destroyed." "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"Not bad," said Leon as he drew his card. "I activate the Equip Spell, Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd." "And then I'll equip it to Sparticus." The black bladed halberd in Sparticus's hand disappears and is replaced with a different halberd. This halberd has a wooden handle with a metal hand guard and a shiny silver blade. "Now whenever Sparticus attacks, Battle Halberd will destroy one Spell or Trap card at the end of the damage step." Sparticus, attack his monster now with power slash!" Sparticus charges at the man's monster about to land its killing blow.

"I activate my face-down down card, Sakuretsu Armor!" said the man. "When one of my opponents monster's attacks, I can activate this cards." "It then destroys the attacking monster." grey spiky armor appears on Sparticus immediately stopping the monster. The armor then explodes, destroying the monster and covering the dueling field with smoke.

"grrrrrr," grunts Leon as he shields his face from the smoke. After the smoke clears Leon makes his move "I activate a Spell Card called Gladiator Beast's Respite." "This card lets me send 2 Gladiator Beast monsters from my hand to my deck, and then I draw 3 cards." Leon sends the selected cards to his Deck and then draws his 3 cards. "Next I activate the Spell Card, Gladiator's Return." With this I return 3 Gladiator Beast monsters from my Graveyard to my Deck, and then I draw 1 card. Leon returns the 3 selected monsters from his Graveyard to his Deck and draws 1 card. "I set one monster face-down and end my turn." "Let's see you get past this one," Leon thought to himself.

The man draws his card. "I activate the Spell Card, Dark World Lightning," said the man. "This card lets me destroy 1 face-down card on the field, and then afterwards I have to discard 1 card from hand."

"No way!" said a surprised Leon.

Streaks of lightning shot forward from the front of the card at Leon's face-down monster, destroying it.

"And now that your field's wide-open, I'll attack," said the man. "Zeradias go, attack directly with heavenly strike!" Zeradias then flies forward with its mighty green-feathered wings toward Leon and delivers a strike in an upright diagonal slash across Leon causing him to flinch. The attack leaves behind a streak of white light following the path of the blade, which disappears after a second. After the strike, Leon's Life Points drop from 4000 to 1900. "I end my turn."

"You're gonna pay for that!" said an angered Leon. He draws his card then looks at his hand. "Now let's try this again." "I set one monster face-down and another card face-down and end my turn." The man draws his card then declares his attack.

"Zeradias, attack his face-down monster now!" Zeradias flies high up into the air above Leon's face-down monster and strikes downward with a mighty force towards the card. The targeted card is flipped face-up revealing a large humanoid rhino covered entirely in thick beige armor outlined in silver save for its face which has two short silver horns protruding from its forehead. This monster also has 11 silver hexagonal shields about 5 inches wide surrounding it. This monster is Gladiator Beast Hiplomus(ATK 700/DEF 2100). Zeradias's attack is blocked with an energy shield surrounding Hiplomus which are aligned with its 11 shields. But with Zeradias being an even match for Hiplomas's defenses, Zeradias breaks through the monster's energy shield, forcing its 11 shields to its sides. Hiplomus then raises its huge left arm, blocking Zeradias's blow with its thick armor successfully fending off Zeradias's attack.

"Since you attacked Hiplomus his effect activates," said Leon. "So I'll send Gladiator Beast Hiplomus to my Deck and then I'll Special Gladiator Beast Bestiari(ATK 1500/DEF 800) in Attack Position." A green armored humanoid creature with light green skin, large armored light green wings, and a birds head is summoned to Leon's field in Attack Position. "When Gladiator Beast Bestiari is Special Summoned by the effect of another Gladiator Beast, I have to destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field." With the flap of its wings the monster releases a vortex of wind towards the man's face-down card, destroying it. "But that's not all." "Now I activate my face-down Trap Card, Gladiator Lash." "I can activate this card only when one of my Gladiator Beast monsters is Special Summoned." "My opponent then has to discard one card from their hand." The man selects one card in his hand and sends it to the Graveyard.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn," said the man.

Leon draws his card and with a grin on his face he makes his move. "I Summon Gladiator Beast Torax(ATK 1400/DEF 400) in Attack Position." A large bloated humanoid fish with no neck appears on Leon's field. It has two stubby arms and legs and its skin is beige, except its head which is a dark-blue with a fish tail sticking out the back of its head with the same color and a large grey fin at the end. It also has grey fins going down the back of its arms and legs. The creature has turquoise colored armor on its lower arms, lower legs, feet, and on its body featuring small silver spikes on the body portion. For its weapon it has a staff with a turquoise handle and an orange orb at the top.

"Now I'll initiate a Contact Fusion by sending Gladiator Beast Torax and Gladiator Beast Bestiari from my field to my Deck in order to Fusion Summon, Gladiator Beast Gyzarus(ATK 2400/DEF 1500)," said Leon as the two monsters swirl together, fusing into one monster. The newly formed monster then appears on Leon's field in Attack Position. "When Gladiator Beast Gyzarus is Special Summoned, his effect activates which lets me destroy up to 2 cards on the field." "I choose your monster and your sanctuary." Gyzarus flies toward Zeradias and destroys him with one punch. Next, Gyzarus flies toward The Sanctuary in the Sky and with a few punches, topples the ancient ruins. Rubble falling from the ruins disappears before reaching the crowd.

"Gyzarus, attack directly, Dark Hurricane Punch!" Gyzarus delivers a powerful punch of swirling wind and dark energy, finally dropping the man's life points from 4000 to 1600. The man didn't flinch once from the attack.

"Now I'll send Gyzarus back to my Extra Deck but this time instead of summoning one Gladiator Beast from my deck, Gyzarus lets me Summon two." "I pick Gladiator Beast Laquari and Gladiator Beast Darius." The two monsters are summoned to Leon's field. Darius is a brown skinned humanoid horse wearing orange armor outlined in silver on its chest, shoulders, on the backs of its lower arms, around its legs, and silver armor on its hooves. It has long dark grey hair going down its neck to its middle back and a long tail with lots of dark grey hair also. Its weapons are two long metal whips with yellow energy spiraling around them.

"When Darius is Summoned by another Gladiator Beast I can Special Summon another Gladiator Beast from my Graveyard." "I Special Summon Gladiator Beast Hiplomas." "With Hiplomas's Summon Leon now has three monsters on his side of the field. "But I'm not done yet." I fuse Gladiator Beast Laquari, Gladiator Beast Darius, and Gladiator Beast Hiplomas together to summon the most powerful Gladiator Beast, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!(ATK 3000/DEF 2800)" The mighty best-warrior stood tall over the man. A portion of nearly every Gladiator Beast can be seen on Heraklinos.

"Herklinos's effect lets me negate the effect of a Spell or Trap card and destroy it by discarding one card from my hand." "And with only two cards in your hand and no cards on your side of the field, I doubt you'll be able to summon a monster strong enough to take down Herklinos." "This duel is mine!" boasted Leon. "I end my turn."

The man drew his card and then grew a smile on his face.

"What're you smiling about," asked Leon, confused.

"Your right, I won't be able to summon a monster strong enough to take down Herklinos," agreed the man. "So I'll do this instead!" "I remove Skelengal, marshmallon, Zeradias, Herald of Heaven, and Sangan in my Graveyard from play in order to Special Summon, Sky Scourage Enrise!"(ATK 2400/ DEF 1500) A creature resembling a shinigami appears on the man's field. It has large white wings, long white hair, a white face, white lower arms, and a white body with a large orb in its abdomen, which contains blue and turquoise colored energy swirling around inside it. It is wearing black gloves and some sort of black attire with small white lined patterns on its upper arms and from its waist down. It is also wearing two belts at the top of its knees and a golden ring about an inch and a half wide around the tops of its legs and around its waist.

"I activate Sky Scourge Enrise's effect." "Once per turn I can remove one face-up monster on the field from play." "I choose Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!" The orb in Enrises abdomen glows blue and starts to pull in Heraklinos like a vacuum. Parts of Heraklinos then break off into small shards which are sucked into the orb. Shards continue to break off of the monster until there is nothing left. "I can't attack during the same turn I've activated Enrises's effect so I end my turn." Leon draws his card.

"You got lucky but this duel isn't over yet!" said Leon. "I Summon Gladiator Best Andal(ATK 1900/DEF 1500) In Attack Position." A huge humanoid bear with grey fur appears on leons fiels wearing blue armor on its chest and abdomen and blue gauntlets and grieves. "Then I'll activate a spell called Double Summon." "Double Summon lets me Normal Summon one more time this turn." "So now I release Gladiator Beast Andal to Advance Summon Gladiator Beast Alexander!"(ATK 2400/DEF 600) Gladiator Beast Alexander is Summoned to Leon's field. A large humanoid lion wearing golden armor and wings outlined in silver now stands on Leon's field.

"Gladiator Beast Alexander, attack Sky Scourge Enrise with Gold Energy Rush!" Gladiator Beast Alexander has three blades sticking out on the joints of its wings which Alexander aims at its target. The blades glow with a yellow energy that is then released as bolts towards Enrise. "They'll destroy each other!"

"I activate Honest from my hand!" said the man. "When one of my Light monsters battle, I can discard Honest from my hand to have that monster gain ATK equal to the ATK of the opponent's monster it's battling, until the End Phase." With the power of Honest Sky Scourge Enrises's ATK rises to 4800. "I told you I didn't need my strongest Deck to beat you!" Now outlined in pure white energy, Sky Scourge Enrise counter attacks by releasing a smaller orb surrounded by blue energy from the orb in its abdomen. The orb touches Alexander, and then increases in size engulfing the monster; the orb then shrinks becoming smaller and smaller until it disappears from the field completely. Leon's Life points are reduced to zero.

With the duel done, the man's Duel Disk switch to Standby Mode and Sky Scourge Enrise disappears. The man walks up to Leon.

"Now are you going to tell me about those two kids," asked the man.

"Alright fine," said Leon. "They were two boys. One of them had light-green hair with a ponytail and the other one had brown hair and glasses. I don't know where they live exactly but I know they live in Tops. That's all I know."

The man then starts to walk away.

"Hey wait," said Leon. "What's your name?"

The man stops, turns around half-way then looks at Leon.

"Nero Phoenix," answered the man. "I'm the current champion of America."

Leon's eyes widened after hearing this.

"-Whoa"

"-You gotta be kidding me"

"-Leon never stood a chance"

With Leon's silence Nero turns and walks away.

Back in Tops Rua and Ruka have finished their snacks and are now ready to head off to Daimon.

"You ready Ruka," asked Rua.

"Mmhmm," answered Ruka.

They both head out the door.

Meanwhile Nero enters Tops. After entering he stops and looks around spotting a convenience store and walks toward it. Inside the store is a petite woman with long brown hair behind the counter. She's leaning on the counter reading a magazine when the electric doors slide open getting her attention. Nero walks in and sees the woman.

"Hi," she says.

"Hi," said Nero. He walks up toward the counter. "I'm wondering if you could help me find someone."

"Sure," said the woman.

"I'm looking for a boy with light-green hair and a ponytail." "I was told he lives here in Tops."

"You must be talking about Rua." said the woman. "He's the only boy with light-green hair that I know around here." "Are you a friend of his?"

"No but I need to talk to him," said Nero. "It's important."

"Oh, well see that tall building there?" The woman points out the front window. "It's an apartment complex." "That's where he lives." "I don't know what apartment though." "He comes in here all the time to buy candy and snacks." "He's a bit energetic but he's a nice boy."

"Thank you," said Nero.

"Sure," said the woman.

Nero walks out of the store towards the apartment complex as Rua and Ruka continue on their way to Daimon.

"Hey Rua, why was Tempei so afraid of going back to Daimon with you?"

"I don't know." "He just chickened out all of a sudden."

"Was she really that frightening?"

"Well she was pretty scary." "When she showed up the ground shook and there was lots of wind." "But the weird part was when that mark on Yusei's arm was glowing. She called it a wretched mark and then she vanished."

"Hmm that is pretty weird." "Do you think she'll show up again?"

"Well I figured she ran off for good."

Ruka notices someone walking toward them.

"Light-green hair pulled into a ponytail." "That must be him," Nero thought to himself. Nero then looks at Ruka. "So he's a twin."

"Rua that guy is walking right towards us." Rua then looks and notices the man walking toward them.

"Hey you, kid!" shouted Nero. Nero walks up to them. "Is your name Rua?"

"Yea but who are you?"

"My name is Nero." "Do you know Yusei Fudo?"

"Yea he's our friend," said Rua.

"Do you know where he is" asked Nero.

"Well, I don't know where he is but why are you looking for Yusei," asked Rua.

"I want to duel him," said Nero. "I want to duel him and defeat him."

"Are you one of his friends?" asked Rua.

"No, but If you see him, tell him the current champion from America is looking for him. Rua and Ruka's eyes widened from hearing this. Nero turns around.

"Hey wait," said Rua. Nero turns back around. "This is so cool!" said Rua in excitement. "A duel monsters champion is standing right here in front of me!" "Can you please duel me?"

"I don't have time for that kid," said Nero.

"Pleeeeaaaase," begged Rua. "I'm always looking for tough opponents and I really wanna see how I stack up against a champion."

"Hmmm," Nero thought a moment. "Alright then."

"Yyyeessss," said Rua as he jumped into the air in excitement.

"But only on one condition," said Nero. "I want to duel both of you at the same time."

"Both of us?" asked Ruka.

"That's fine with me," said Rua. "As long as I get to duel you."

"Well alright then," said Ruka. "I did want to come out to Daimon, but I didn't expect to duel a champion."

"Yusei maybe be training these kids." "So if I duel them then it might give me an idea of what to expect when I duel him," Nero thought to himself.

"I don't think there's enough room here," said Ruka.

"We were on our way to Daimon so why don't we have our duel there?" suggested Rua.

"Fine." said Nero.

They all head to Diamon.

To be continued.

Author's Note: So how did you like it? Chapter 1 was meant to introduce Nero and show his dueling skills. But Chapter 2 will be much better; it will feature another action packed duel that will be even better than the one with Leon. Chapter 2 will also delve into Nero's past and explain why he came to Neo Domino to duel Yusei.


	2. The King vs The Phoenix

**A few notes:** This is the second and final chapter to Enter the Shining Phoenix, I never intended this story to be long. It took me quite a while to get this finished since I uploaded chapter one way back in April '09. To be honest, I didn't have much motivation to finish it and the very little feedback I got didn't help either. But after taking a look at some other yugioh fanfics, I was finally motivated to finish this. And let me just say that I had fun working on it especially Nero's duel vs Yusei. I pulled out all the stops for that duel. Its action packed, entertaining, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Nero's past will also be revealed along with the reason why he wants to defeat Yusei. Not only is this chapter the better of the two but it's also longer and I think it raps up the story nicely. Once again all duels will use both real cards and cards from the anime and will follow the official rules of the OCG. New this chapter is the use of italicized dialogue to represent the thoughts of a character. So whenever you see italicized text then that's what a character is thinking. I really hope you all enjoy the final chapter to Enter The Shining Phoenix.

Enter The Shining Phoenix: The King vs The Phoenix

It's the early hours of the morning in Neo Domino and the sun has just risen. It's a warm quiet morning as the sun's ray's pierce through the darkness in Ruka's room. Ruka slowly opens her eyes greeting the new day. She yawns, wipes her eyes, and gets out of bed. Rua is still sound asleep in his room while Ruka is making breakfast. She's nearly done when she hears footsteps on the stairs.

"Something smells really good," said Rua, Walking down the stairs wiping his eyes.

"Good morning Rua," said Ruka.

"Good morning sis." Rua sits down at the kitchen table.

"I made your favorite."

"You made my favorite!?" said Rua excited.

"I thought it would make you feel better after getting beat by Nero yesterday."

"He beat you too."

"But I didn't cry like a baby afterwards."

"Yea well it was still one of the best duels I've ever had." "That last monster he played was incredible." "What was its name again, Volt something?" "I can't remember but that was one of the strongest monsters I've ever seen." "It nearly wiped out all the cards on both our fields."

"And I've never even heard of the kind of monsters he used before yesterday." "He was able to counter almost every major move we made." "We didn't even get his life points down by half."

"Hey remember? He switched decks before we started; maybe that was his strongest one?"

"I don't think so." "Why would he use his strongest deck against a couple of kids he just met?

"Yeah I guess you're right"

Ruka sets their breakfast on the table and heads to the refrigerator.

"Hey do you want some milk," She asks.

"Uh huh," answered Rua. Rua starts to eat his breakfast. "I wonder if he's found Yusei yet."

"If he did then its no thanks to you since I'm the one who told him about Saiga after the duel." "How could you forget that he went to Saiga's hideout?"

"Some stranger just approached me out of nowhere so I was nervous okay?"

Rua sets his arm up on the table and leans his head against his hand while he eats. Ruka comes back to the table and pours herself a glass of milk. She then starts to pour some milk for Rua.

"Hey Ruka, I've been wondering." "Why did you decide to go to Daimon with me?" "I thought you didn't like dueling that much."

"Oh, well…you looked so sad after Tempei said he didn't want to go back do Daimon with you, so I thought I'd go with you to cheer you up."

"Wow, thanks Ruka," Rua said with a smile.

"It's okay, I wanted to go." "We stay inside so much that it was nice to get out for once." "And just think, if I hadn't gone with you then you wouldn't have met Nero."

"Yeah your right, Hmmm," Rua started thinking.

"Hey Ruka, do you want to walk with me to the convenience store today?" He said happily. "That is if you feel like it."

"Well ok, sure."

"We might bump into someone else who's famous, like a singer or a movie star; what if we bump into Jack Atlas," Rua said excitedly.

"I doubt something like that'll happen."

"You never know, I can't wait!"

Ruka sighed.

"_That's Rua for you,"_ Ruka thought to herself.

After learning that Yusei has taken refuge at Saiga's hideout, Nero has been trying to find out as much information as he can about its location, gathering information from as many people as possible. It's now after noon and Nero's search has led him to a bar situated in an alley in a poorer rural part of Neo Domino City. Nero walks up to the bar's entrance. The entrance has a stairway leading down to a door. He then reads the sign hanging at the top of the doorway.

"Bootleg," Nero says to himself as he reads the sign.

Nero walks down the stairway and enters the bar. The bartender sees him walk in. Nero then sits down at the counter.

"So what'll it be?" The bar tender asks.

"I'm not here for a drink," said Nero. "I'm looking for a guy named Saiga." "I was told he hangs out around here."

"Really?" The bartender says in a calm voice with a downward inflection. "Well I don't know anyone by that name." "And I Can't say I've seen you around before either."

"Let's just say I'm here on business."

"Yeah well sorry, I can't help you."

"Alright then."

Nero gets up from his seat and heads towards the door. At the same time a report comes on the TV about the top ranking duelist around the world with Nero as the featured duelist. The bartender turns his attention to the wall mounted television.

"What the-, you gotta be kidding me!" said the bartender, who is surprised to see that Nero is a duel monsters champion. "Hey Lewis take over!" He said while hurrying out of the bar.

Nero isn't too far away from the bar when he hears someone yelling.

"Hey!" "Hey you stop!" "Hey!"

Nero turns around to see who it is. He then sees the bar tender running towards him. The bartender catches up to him and tries to catch his breath.

"Are you Nero Phoenix, the champion from America?" Asked the bar tender.

"Yeah," answered Nero.

"I had no idea, you shoulda' said somethin'." "A report just came on the TV aboutcha'." "I'm sure Saiga'd be interested in meetin' you." "But unfortunately he's busy with an errand right now.

"You said you didn't know who Saiga was."

"Yeah well Saiga likes to keep a low profile." "His activities don't exactly mix well with the law."

"So where is he?"

"I don't know, it's not my business to keep track of where he goes."

"Well do you at least know how long it'll be before he gets back?"

"Sorry but I don't Know that either." "It could be a few hours or a couple of days before he gets back, but if I know Saiga he'll be done in no time." "He doesn't want to risk losing any potential business opportunities."

"I don't have time to wait around for him to get back." "Do you know where his hideout is?"

"I do but I can't just give out secretive information like that so easily." "I'm sorry but you'll just have to wait until he gets back."

"Listen, I don't care about Saiga." "I'm only here because I'm looking for Yusei Fudo and I was told he's staying at Saiga's hideout. "So if you can just tell me where Saiga's hideout is; I can be on my way."

"So you're looking for Yusei huh?" "He came to bootleg not too long ago and requested Saiga's services." "Can't see why he'd still need Saiga now that he's the new king." "But if you need to see him now then I guess the reason must be an important one." "Alright, I'll tell ya."

The bartender looked around to make sure there was no one close enough to hear them. He then signaled Nero to get closer and told him the location of Saiga's hideout in a low voice.

"Alright, thank you," said Nero. He then walks past the bartender towards Saiga's hideout.

"Hey why don't you stop by Bootleg again sometime?" "I'll give you a drink on the house." While continuing on toward Saiga's hideout, Nero raises his right hand half way and makes a hand gesture letting the bartender know that he heard him.

The bartender watches Nero for a few more seconds before walking back to the bar.

It's now evening in Neo Domino. It's been one day since the Fortune Cup ended. Yusei has been staying at Saiga's hideout along with Himuro and Yanagi since then. Yusei has met and dueled against the first of the dark signers last night. Because of the vision he and Jack during their turbo duel of Satellite being destroyed, he's now getting worried because he hasn't heard back from Saiga yet about his friends and has decided to go back to Satellite. Yusei open's the garage door getting ready to head off. Nero is approaching Saiga's hideout and spots Yusei opening the garage door.

"Yusei!" shouted Nero. Getting Yusei's attention Yusei turns to his right and sees Nero walking towards him. "I've finally found you," said Nero as he walks up to Yusei.

"Who are you?" asked Yusei.

"My name is Nero Phoenix." "I'm the current Duel Monsters Champion of America and I'm here to duel you, and I won't take no for an answer."

Yusei paused for a second before answering.

"I'm sorry but I can't duel you now." "I have something very important I have to do."

"Listen, I came all this way to duel you and I'm not leaving until I do." "So if you don't mind me asking; what do you have to do right now that's so important?"

Yusei looks down and pauses for a second before answering.

"I'm going to Satellite to see if my friends are okay." "Godwin kidnapped them in order to force me to enter the Fortune Cup." "And now that it's over I have to go see if they're safe."

"Godwin?" "He's the guy who's in control of Neo Domino right now right?

"Yeah."

Well that's some pretty revealing information and all but right now my main priority is to defeat you in a duel, so why don't I make you a deal?" "I'll help you find your friends and in exchange you duel me right here, right now." "I have a personal helicopter that we can use." "Not only will we get to Satellite in no time, but it will also make finding your friends a lot easier." "So do we have a deal?"

Yusei looked at Nero for a second and then looked down, thinking about Nero's proposal.

"Alright," said Yusei.

"And one more thing; if you lose then you'll relinquish your title of king of Neo Domino City."

"I don't care, my friends are more important."

"Hm," Nero smirked.

Yanagi and Himuro are both waiting inside the hideout. Himuro is on the computer and Yanagi is sitting at the table.

"I haven't heard Yusei's D-Wheel take off yet," said Yanagi. "Is he still getting it ready?"

Yanagi get's up from the table and goes over to the window. He looks out the window and sees Yusei with Nero.

"Hey Himuro, Yusei is outside with someone."

Himuro gets up from the computer and goes over to the window; he then sees Nero outside with Yusei.

"Who the heck is that?" said Himuro

"I don't know but he looks like he might be trouble." "Come on, sonny boy might need our help."

They both hurry outside.

Nero swaps the deck in his duel disk with the other deck that's stashed away in the other deck box clipped to his belt.

"We'll toss a coin to decide who goes first," said Nero. Nero Reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a coin. "I'll let you call it."

Nero tosses the coin over to Yusei who catches it without a problem. Yusei flips the coin.

"call it," said Nero.

"Tails."

Yusei removes his hand to reveal the coin.

"It's heads," said Yusei.

"Well it looks like I'm first then," said Nero. "_Good._"

Right as the duel is about to begin, Himuro and Yanagi come rushing outside.

"Hey is everything alright Yusei?" asked Himuro. "We saw you outside and came to make sure everything was okay."

"Yea, this is Nero." "I agreed to duel him and in exchange he's going to let me use his helicopter to help me find my friends," explained Yusei.

"Well this is good news then," said Himuro.

"You'll be able to find them in no time with that," said Yanagi.

"Well if you all don't mind then I'd like to get this duel started," said Nero.

"Right," agreed Yusei.

Their Life Points both set to 4,000.

"Alright, I'll begin by Summoning Bountiful Artemis (ATK 1600/DEF 1700) in Attack Position." A mechanical looking angel appeared on the field. "Next I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn." "You'd better be ready Yusei!" This is the deck I used to become the U.S. champion!" "So you'd better give me all you've got or else you won't last five turns against me!"

Yusei draws his card. "_Two face-down cards right off the bat." "I'll play it safe this turn because there's no telling what those face-down cards could be. After all this guy is a champion for a reason."_ "I place one monster face-down." "I also place these two cards face-down." "I end."

Nero draws. "_Perfect_," he thought upon looking at the drawn card. "I activate the Field Spell Card, The Sanctuary in the Sky." "Then I'll Summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky in Attack Position." (ATK 1600/DEF 1200) Another mechanical looking angel appeared on Nero's field. Now I'll attack with Bountiful Artemis."

Bountiful Artemis's wings glow in a white energy; it then flies towards Yusei's face-down monster. Yusei's face-down monster is flipped face-up revealing Shield Wing. (ATK 0/DEF 900) Shield Wing is in the path of Bountiful Artemis's wing edge. Shield Wing positions its arms and wings in front of its body to block Artemis's attack which it does so successfully.

"Shield Wing can't be destroyed by battle up to two times per turn," explained Yusei.

"I end," said Nero.

Yusei draws his card. "I Summon Road Synchron in Attack Position." (ATK 1600/DEF 800) Road Synchron is Summoned to Yusei's field.

"Hold it!" said Nero. "I activate a Counter Trap Card, Forced Back!" "Forced Back negates the Normal Summon or Flip Summon of a monster and sends it back the owner's hand!"

Road Synchron disappears from the field and Yusei adds the card back to his hand.

"And now the fun starts," said Nero with a grin. "Both of my monsters effects can only be activated when a Counter Trap Card is used." "First, Meltiel increases my Life Points by 1,000." Nero's Life Points increase from 4000 to 5000. "Then if The Sanctuary in the Sky is face-up on the field, Meltiel destroys one card my opponent controls." "I target Shield Wing." Meltiel fires a large beam of light energy at Shield Wing, destroying the monster." "Next, Bountiful artemis's effect activates which lets me draw one card from my Deck.

"_Monsters that work with Counter Trap Cards?" thought Yusei." "I've never heard of these monsters."_

"I think I've heard of these kind of monsters before," said Himuro.

"You have?" said Yanagi.

"Yea, one time back at the facility, I overheard a couple of guys talking about them." "They're a rare archetype of Fairy-Type monsters called Counter Fairies; synthetic angels whose effects only activate when a Counter Trap Card is activated." "Apparently their effects are designed to make up for the heavy costs that most Counter Traps have and to generate advantage and field control."

"Well I'm not worried," said yanagi. "Yusei can handle Himself." "He is the king you know."

"_I wish I could say the same old timer, but Yusei isn't facing an ordinary duelist." And when used right, these monsters can be really powerful._" "_I hate to say it but Yusei is in for one tough duel."_

"_His face-down card is probably another Counter Trap," _thought Yusei. "_And if I make a move then there's a chance he could counter it, causing Meltiel to increase his Life Points and destroy another one of my cards." "Meltiel is my biggest threat right now so if I'm going to destroy it then I'll have to risk making a move." _"I end my turn."

Nero draws.

"I attack directly with Bountiful Artemis."

Bountiful Artemis charges its wings with pure white energy. It then flies toward Nero to attack.

"I activate the Trap Card Iron Resolve!" said Yusei. "I pay half my Life Points." Yusei's Life Points are reduced from 4000 to 2000. "Then during this turn, all Battle Damage is reduced to zero and the Battle Phase ends."

"I end my turn," said Nero.

"_All right, here goes." _thought Yusei."I Summon Road Synchron in attack position." Road Synchron is Summoned to Yusei's field. "_So far so good." _"Next I activate the Equip Spell Fighting Spirit." "For every monster my opponent controls, the equipped monster gains 300 ATK."

"Not so fast," said Nero. "I counter with Dark Bribe." "Dark Bribe Negates the activation of a Spell or Trap Card and destroys it." "Then my opponent draws one card."

"_Darn it!" _thought Yusei.

The activation of Fighting Spirit is then Negated and the card is destroyed. Yusei draws his card from the effect of Dark Bribe.

"And now my monster's effects activate," said Nero. Meltiel increases Nero's Life Points to 6000. "Now I'll have Meltiel destroy Road Synchron." Road Synchron is destroyed by Meltiel's laser.

"_This isn't good; I don't have any more monsters in my hand." _thought Yusei._ "I'll have to rely on my face-down cards to protect me now." "Nero is definitely one of the strongest duelists I've ever faced." "It's only the second turn and he already has me backed into a corner." "And to top it off, his Life Points are at 6000; that's going to make him even harder to take down." "There's only one card that could give me a shot at defeating him." "But I have to get past Meltiel first; If his Life Points increase any further then it's going to be even more difficult to take him down."_

"What's the matter Yusei?" said Nero. "Having trouble already?" "Are you sure you're ready to face me?" "You'd better give me all you've got or else you can say goodbye to that title of yours!"

"Wait, what title is he talking about?" asked HImuro. "Don't tell me your title as King of Neo Domino City is on the line."

"It doesn't matter," said Yusei. "My friends are more important than some title."

"Yeah you're right," said Himuro.

"_That Yusei," _thought Yanagi. _"He's willing to risk it all for his friends." "That's the sign of a true duelist."_

"I place one card face-down," said Yusei. "I end my turn."

Nero draws.

"I activate the Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon!" said Nero. "This card lets me destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field." "I'll choose a card on your side of the field; I pick the card on the far right."

A cyclone appears in the middle of the field. The cyclone heads towards the chosen card and destroys it.

"Now I activate the effect of Limiter Overload!" said Yusei. "When Limiter Overload is sent from the field to Graveyard, Speed Warrior is Special Summoned from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard." Speed Warrior is Special Summoned to Yusei's field in Defense Position. (ATK 900/DEF 400)

"So you managed to get a monster on the field huh." "Nice move."

"I Release Bountiful Artemis to Advance Summon Tethys, Goddess of Light (ATK 2400/DEF 1800) in Attack Position."

A shining angel with big, beautiful, white feathered wings connected by two blue orbs appears on Nero's field. The angel is wearing bluish grey armor with two red gems on her abdomen and waist and gold on her breast area and around her waists.

"Meltiel, attack Speed Warrior now!"

Meltiel fires a thin red laser a Speed Warrior destroying the monster.

"Now Tethys, attack Yusei directly!"

Tethys positions her hands in front of her chest so that her palms are right across from each other; a sphere of light then forms in between the palms of her hands. Tethys then thrusts her palms forward, launching the sphere of light a Yusei.

"I activate the Trap Card Defense Draw!" said Yusei. "I can only activate this card during the damage calculation of my opponent's turn." "All battle damage I would receive becomes zero!"

Yusei is hit with the sphere but he doesn't take any damage.

"Then Defense Draw lets me draw one card," said Yusei.

"You've avoided my attack; Impressive Yusei." "Maybe you're giving this duel everything you've got after all." "I Summon Nova Summoner in Attack Position." (ATK 1400/DEF 800)

A synthetic fairly like creature with small wings resembling an orange reef with green ribbons around it appeared on Nero's field. The creature had an ornament on its top and a green orb in the middle of its body.

Yusei draws.

"I summon Junk Synchron!" said Yusei. (ATK 1300/DEF 500) Junk Synchron is Summoned to Yusei's field in Attack Postion. "When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 2 or lower monster form my Graveyard in Defense Position with its effect Negated." "I Summon Shield Wing from my Graveyard!" Shield Wing is Summoned to Yusei's side of the field. "Now I'm Tuning my Level 2 Shield Wing with my Level 3 Junk Synchron." Shield Wing and Junk Synchron then start to synchronize. "Clustering stars will call upon a new force!" "Become the path its light shines upon!" "Synchro Summon!" "Show yourself, Junk Warrior!" (ATK 2300/DEF 1300)

Junk Warrior is Summoned to Yusei's field.

"Now I'll activate the Spell Card Tuning!" "This card lets me add one Synchron Tuner monster from my Deck to my hand. Then I have to send a number of cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard equal to its Level." "I choose Hyper Synchron." Yusei adds Hyper Synchron to his hand. "Hyper Synchron is a Level four monster so I have to send four cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard." Yusei sends the four cards to his Graveyard. "Next I activate Level Eater's effect from my Graveyard!" "When Level Eater is in the Graveyard, I can select one face-up monster on my side of the field whose Level is five or higher and Level Eater reduces that monsters Level by one." "I choose Junk Warrior!" Junk Warrior's Level is decreased from five to four. "Then Level Eater is Summoned form the Graveyard to the field." (ATK 600/DEF 0)

"Next I activate Double Summon!" "This card lets me Normal Summon one additional time this turn." "I Summon Hyper Synchron!"

Hyper Synchron is summoned to Yusei's field in Attack Position. (ATK 1600/DEF 800)

"I'm Tuning my Level four Hyper Synchron to my Level four Junk Warrior." "Go!" Hyper Synchron begins to synchronize with Junk Warrior." "Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

Stardust Dragon appears in a dazzling display of bluish-white sparkling energy on Yusei's field. (ATK 2500/ DEF2000)

"Alright, Yusei got Stardust on the field!" Himuro said happily.

"Yup, sonny boy finally summoned his best monster," said Yanagi with a smile. "_I knew you could do it Yusei."_

"Now the effect of Hyper Synchron activates!" said Yusei. "If Hyper Synchron is used for the Synchro Summon of a Dragon-Type Synchro monster, then that monster gains 800 ATK points."

Stardust Dragon's attack power rises from 2500 to 3300.

"Next I activate the Equip Spell Card Silver Wing!"

Stardust's wings glow with a silver energy.

"I can only equip it to a Level eight or higher Dragon-Type Synchro monster; now Stardust Dragon can't be destroyed by battle for up to two times per turn!"

"Stardust Dragon, attack Meltiel!" "Shooting Sonic!"

Stardust Dragon fires a powerful stream of bluish-white supersonic energy at Meltiel.

"That was an impressive move Yusei, but it ends here!" exclaimed Nero. "I activate the Counter Trap Negate Attack!"

"_Just as I expected," _thought Yusei.

"Negate Attack negates the attack of one monster and then ends the Battle Phase." said Nero.

The stream of supersonic energy then dissipates before it reaches Meltiel.

"And you know what that means," said Nero. Nero's Life Points increase from 6000 to 7000. "Meltiel, destroy Stardust Dragon!"

Meltiel charges its beam and fires it at Stardust Dragon. Stardust folds its wings in front of its body to block the attack which it does. Stardust's wings then lose their silver energy.

"If the equipped monster would be destroyed by a card effect then I can destroy Silver Wing instead!" explained Yusei. "But I'm not done yet!" "I activate the face-down card Assault Mode Activate!" "Now I release Stardust Dragon to Summon Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode from my Deck!" (ATK 3000/DEF 2500)

An armored version of Stardust Dragon appeared on Yusei's side of the field.

"_Now what could this be?"_ thought Nero.

"Now Stardust Dragon, attack Meltiel!" "Absolute Sonic Burst!"

Assault Mode Stardust Dragon fires a burst of powerful sonic energy at Meltiel, destroying the monster.

"Hm, so you finally managed to destroy Meltiel," said Nero. "I have to admit, that dragon of yours took me by surprise." "If I had to guess, I'd say that Stardust Dragon is your ace monster."

"It is," acknowledged Yusei. "Now tell me, why haven't your Life Points decreased yet?"

"It's simple," answered Nero. "As long as the Sanctuary in the Sky remains active on the field, all damage from battles involving Fairy-Type monsters is reduced to zero." "That means as long as I keep a Fairy-type monster on my side of the field, your dragon won't be able to do any damage to my Life Points."

"C'mon Yusei," said Yanagi. "I know you can figure out a way around that sanctuary."

"I end my turn," said Yusei.

Nero draws his card.

"Hm," said Nero with a grin after looking at the card.

"I activate Tethys's effect!" said Nero. "Whenever I draw a Fairy-Type monster then all I have to do is show that monster to my opponent and I can draw one more card from my deck."

Nero then shows the card to Yusei.

"Take a good look at this monster Yusei," said Nero. "This is the card that's going to win the duel for me." "And trust me; you won't even see it coming."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Yanagi.

"I set one monster face-down and another card face-down," said Nero. "I end my turn."

Yusei draws.

"Stardust, attack Tethys!" "Absolute Sonic Burst!"

Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode fires its sonic burst at Tethys and destroys the monster.

"I set one card face-down," said Yusei. "I end my turn."

Nero draws

"Now I attack Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode with Nova Summoner!" said Nero.

Nova Summoner releases a green wave of energy from its orb towards Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode.

"_He's attacking Stardust?"_ thought Yusei.

"_What is he up to?"_ thought Himuro

Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode then fires its sonic burst at Nova Summoner, diminishing its attack and destroying the monster.

"Now I activate Nova Summoner's effect!" said Nero. "If Nova Summoner is destroyed by battle and The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, then I can Summon Airknight Parshath from my Deck!"

Nero Summons Airknight Parshath from his Deck to his side of the field in Attack Position. (ATK 1900/DEF 1400)

A centaur with white fur wearing blue and gold armor on its human portion and on the front legs of the horse portion appeared on Nero's side of the field. This monster has two large white feathered wings on the back of the horse portion and four smaller white feathered wings on the back of its human portion which are all folded in. It has blond hair on its head with two more small white feathered wings on each side and a halo floating above. It also has a sword attached to its right arm and a green shield outlined in gold attached to its left arm.

"Now I'll have Airnight attack Level Eater!"

Airknight Parshath charges toward Level Eater.

"Airkight Parshath inflicts Piercing damage whenever it attacks a monster in Defense Position, and then I draw one card." explained Nero.

"If this attack hits then Yusei will be down to just 100 points," said Himuro worriedly.

"Come on Sonny!" cheered Yanagi.

"I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" said Yusei. "I can only activate this card when my opponent's monster declares an attact." "That attack is Negated and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow is Set face-down againt."

"I counter with Solemn Judgment!" said Nero. "Solemn Judgment is a powerful Counter Trap Crap that can Negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card or the Summon of a monster and destroy it after I pay half my life Points."

Nero's Life Points are reduced from 7000 to 3500. Scrap-Iron Scarecrow's effect is Negated and the card is destroyed by a bolt of energy fired from Solemn Judgment.

"And now it's time to end this!" exclaimed Nero. "I release all monsters on my side of the field in order to Summon my ace monster!" "Go, Voltanis the Adjudicator!" (ATK 2800/DEF 1400)

"He's Summoning his monster now!?" said a surprised Yusei.

A large synthetic angel appeared on Nero's field appearing to be wearing purple armor. It's holding a purple scepter which features a blue gem at the top, being held in an exotic purple holder. Its large wings are a reddish purple color and are floating in place behind it instead of being connected. It also has a large crystalline mass for its lower body.

"After one of my Counter Trap Cards has been activated, I can release all monsters on my side of field to Summon Voltanis from my hand." "And if Voltanis is Summoned this way, then I can destroy a number of cards my opponent controls up to the number of monsters I released!" "I released two monsters, so that means Voltanis can destroy up to two cards you control!" "I choose Level Eater and Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode, the only cards you have left!" "I told you you wouldn't see it coming!" "Now Go, Voltanis!" "Final Judgment!"

Voltanis raises its scepter to the sky. Dark clouds begin to form over the dueling field. As the clouds grow thick, thunder can be heard and lightning can be seen in the clouds, illuminating them.

"This duel is over!" said Nero.

"I activate the effect of Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode!" said Yusei. "When the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Effect Monster is activated, I can release Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode to Negate the activation of that card and destroy it!"

"What!?" said Nero, surprised at the dragon's effect.

"I Release Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode to activate its effect, Victim Sanctuary!"

Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode envelopes Voltanis in its wings. The thick thunderous clouds then dissipate and both monsters disappear in a display of sparkling light.

"_Damn that dragon of his,_" cursed Nero as he glares at Yusei. "Both of our ace monsters are gone." "This duel is now winding down to its final few turns." "You've dueled better than I expected and soon one of use will be declared the winner, but I'll tell you now; I don't intend to lose!" said Nero as he stares Yusei straight into his eyes and Yusei stares back into his. "I end my turn!"

"_A few more turns and I'll be one step closer to achieving your dream, father," _thought Nero.

"Appear now, Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode!" Commanded Yusei.

Nero's eyes widened at Yusei's words

"But how!?" asked Nero.

"If Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode was sent to the Graveyard by his effect, then he's Special Summoned to my side of the field during the End Phase of the same turn," explained Yusei.

"No!" shouted Nero.

Yusei draws his card.

"You're definitely worthy of your title as the U.S. Champion," said Yusei. " But you made one fatal mistake in this duel." "The mistake you made was paying half of your Life Points and then releasing all of your monsters to summon Voltanis without considering what abilities my monster may have had. This gave me the chance for a reversal and is what ultimately cost you the duel."

"I switch Level Eater into Attack Position!" said Yusei. (ATK 600) "Now I attack directly with Level Eater!"

Level Eater flies into the air and beats its wings fiercely. The fiercely beating wings release shockwaves at Nero.

"Uh!" grunted Nero as he's hit by the shockwaves.

Nero's Life Points drop from 3500 to 2900.

"Now Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode, attack directly!" "Absolute Sonic Burst!"

The monster fires its powerful sonic burst directly at Nero.

"AAAAAAhhhhhh!" grunted Nero as he shields himself while being bombarded with the dragon's powerful attack.

Nero's Life Points then drop from 2900 to 0.

"That a boy Yusei!" cheered Himuro.

"Sonny boy did it!" said Yanagi happily. "He He He I know he wouldn't lose."

Nero has lost the duel. With the duel done, the holograms disappear from the field.

"I can't believe it," said Nero.

Nero drops to one knee and removes his sunglasses revealing his brown eyes.

"How could I lose!" he said angrily through his teeth. "Dammit!" he cursed, touching his fist to the ground. "Father, I'm sorry but it looks I won't be able to realize your dream," he said to himself.

"Father?" wondered Yusei. "You came to duel me because of your father?"

After a short pause Nero sighed.

"My father…is dead," Nero answered sadly while looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry," said Yusei.

"He died in the Zero Reverse Incident," said Nero while still looking at the ground. "But, before he died, my father was a talented duelist." "His dream was to become the greatest duelist in the world." "My father used a powerful deck constructed around the Flamvell monsters, and with his skill he rose through the ranks and eventually became known as The Blazing Phoenix."

"Then…it happened," Nero continued. "Domino City was holding a major tournament and my father was invited." "That's when the Zero Reverse Incident happened…and my father was killed." "I was only seven years old at the time but I looked up to my father." "So, when I got older, I took my father's old duel disk and I decided that I would try to realize his dream to become the greatest duelist in the world." "I worked my way up through the ranks just as my father did and made a name for myself." "I became known as The Shining Phoenix because of the Deck I used."

"Your Counter Fairies," said Yusei.

"I eventually became champion of the United States," said Nero." "But before I even started out on my journey, I had already decided, that once I became the champion of my own country, the very next place I would head to, is Domino City, my father's resting place." "So, once I found out that you were its champion, I traveled here and began my search for you." "And that's what led me here," he said, looking up at Yusei.

Nero then stood up and looked down.

"But it was all for nothing," said Nero sadly. "In the end, I couldn't realize his dream, I failed."

Nero then paused for a moment.

"If he were still alive, I wonder if my father would be disappointed in me right now." Nero then sighed.

"No, he wouldn't," answered Yusei.

Nero looked up at Yusei.

"If your father was truly the great duelist you said he was, then that means he had the heart and soul of a true duelist." said Yusei. "The heart and soul your father had as a duelist now lives on within you, along with his dream" "You tried to realize that dream and managed to become the champion of America." "That's a major accomplish whether you decide to accept it or not." "If your father were alive today, then I'm sure he would've been proud of you."

Yusei then paused and looked down.

"I know the pain of not having a father," Yusei said softly. "Both of my parents were killed in the Zero Reverse Incident when I was just an infant."

Nero looks on, surprised by Yusei's words.

"I never got to know either of them," said Yusei. "But I know they're watching over me and that, along with the strong bonds I have with my friends is what gives me the strength to go on."

"Your friends," said Nero. "You said you were going to Satellite to look for your friend's right?"

"Yea," answered Yusei.

Nero then puts his left hand up to his coat collar and speaks into a hidden two-way reciever.

"This is Nero, come in."

A voice is then heard coming through the receiver.

"This is Mike, go ahead."

"Mike, you have my coordinates don't you?" asked Nero.

"Yes, I have your exact location," said the voice.

"Good, then send my personal Helicopter here right away,"

"I'll get it off the ground immediately," said the voice.

"Thank you," said Yusei with a smile.

"My helicopter will be here shortly," said Nero.

A few seconds later sirens could be heard off in the distance. Everyone looks to see what the source of the noise is, only to see Ushio on his D-Wheel and Sector Security vehicles approaching them.

"Tch, talk about bad timing," said Himuro.

They are all then surrounded by Sector Security vehicles.

"There you are you Satellite scumbag!" said Ushio.

"What's going on?" asked Nero.

"Don't worry, they're only here for me," assured Yusei.

Ushio then gets off his D-Wheel.

"This city is no safe refuge for you!" said Ushio. "I'm gonna haul your ass in this very second, so you'd better get good and ready!"

Yusei looks at Ushio for a few seconds. He then walks up to Ushio.

"I needed to speak to Godwin anyway," said Yusei.

"What was that you Satellite?" said Ushio. "You Satellite scumbag."

Ushio then reaches out his hand to grab Yusei's shirt but Yusei grabs his arm.

"You're going to take me to him," Yusei said smugly.

Yusei releases his arm and walks to a Sector Security car.

"You punk!" snapped Ushio.

"Goodbye Nero," said Yusei.

Ushio walks up to the car as Yusei is getting inside. After the door closes, Ushio approaches the window.

"This is the end of all your bluffs!" said Ushio. "I'm gonna teach you a decent thing or two!"

"Just hurry," said Yusei while turning an eye towards Ushio.

The Sector Security cars then drive off and Ushio follows. As Sector Security drives off, a helicopter is seen approaching Nero, Yanagi, and Himuro.

"So what'll you do now?" asked Himuro.

"I'm going to become an even stronger duelist," said Nero. "And continue to try and fulfill my father's dream of becoming the greatest in the world." _"Thank you Yusei, for giving me the strength to go on."_

The helicopter approaches the group and hovers in the air. The doors open and a rope ladder descends from the opened doorway. Nero puts on his sunglasses and climbs up the rope and into the helicopter. The rope ladder is pulled up and the doors close. The helicopter then flies off into the sky.

The End.

So what did you think? I really hope you enjoyed it. This story was originally going to have only one chapter and it was just supposed to be about my character dueling Ruka. But as I thought the story out, I realized that the way my character was to met Ruka would've had her acting out of character, which I realized after I did more research on her character. So I changed my story trying to think up ideas on how my character and Ruka would meet unitl my story eventually developed into what you see here. I actually do have an idea for another story about Nero IF I decide to continue. But whether I continue or not will depend mostly on the amount of feedback I get. So the more the feedback I get then more likely it is that I will continue. Thank you all for reading my story and once again I hope you enjoyed it. See ya.


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